1 Samuel 10

10 ¹ Then Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not our Father anointed you ruler over his inheritance? You will reign over his people and save them from their enemies all around. And this will be the sign to you that he has anointed you ruler over his inheritance: ² When you leave me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, 'The donkeys you went looking for have been found. Your father has stopped worrying about them and is now anxious about you, asking, "What am I going to do about my son?"'

³ Then you will go on from there and come to the oak of Tabor, and three men going up to our Father at Bethel will meet you—one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a wineskin of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you are to accept from them.

⁵ After that you will come to Gibeah of our Father, where there is a Philistine garrison. As you approach the town, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, and they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then the Spirit of our Father will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be changed into a different man. ⁷ Once these signs come to you, do whatever you find to do, for our Father is with you.

⁸ Go down ahead of me to Gilgal, and I will surely come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you are to do."

The Father's Signs Come to Pass

⁹ As Saul turned to leave Samuel, our Father changed his heart, and all these signs came true that very day. ¹⁰ When they came to Gibeah, a band of prophets met him, and the Spirit of our Father rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ When all who had known him before saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people said to one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

¹² And a man from there replied, "And who is their father?" So it became a proverb: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" ¹ 1 v12 The question "who is their father?" implies prophets need no special lineage — anyone can receive the Spirit. ¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he went up to the high place.

¹⁴ Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where did you go?" "To look for the donkeys," he said. "But when we saw they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel."

¹⁵ Saul's uncle said, "Please tell me what Samuel said to you."

¹⁶ Saul told his uncle, "He assured us the donkeys had been found." But he did not tell him what Samuel had said about the kingship.

The Father Reveals His Chosen King

¹⁷ Then Samuel summoned the people to our Father at Mizpah, ¹⁸ and he said to the people of Israel, "This is what our Father of Israel says: 'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.' ¹⁹ But today you have rejected your Father, who himself saves you from all your calamities and distresses, and you have said to him, 'No—set a king over us.' So now present yourselves before our Father by your tribes and your clans." ² 2 v19 Israel's demand for a human king was, at its heart, a rejection of their Father's own loving rule over them.

²⁰ When Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. ²¹ Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the Matrite clan was chosen, and Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he could not be found. ²² So they inquired further of our Father, "Has the man come here yet?" And our Father said, "Look, he has hidden himself among the baggage."

²³ They ran and brought him out, and when he stood among the people he was a head taller than anyone else. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one our Father has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." Then all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

²⁵ Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the kingship; he wrote them in a scroll and placed it before our Father. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home.

²⁶ Saul also went home to Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts our Father had touched.

²⁷ But some worthless men said, "How can this fellow save us?" They despised him and brought him no gift. But Saul kept silent.